Ultimate List of Homesteading Tools & Supplies

We’re often asked about which tools we use around our homestead so we thought it’d be helpful to create a page of our must-have homesteading supplies & tools that have helped us throughout this homesteading journey including tools, equipment, clothing, safety gear, cooking and more!

Please note: many of these links are affiliate links, so if you purchase any of these items through links on this page, we will receive a small commission that is used to help keep Pure Living for Life running. We only link to products we personally use and support and if you purchase items through these links, you have our sincere thanks!

Our Favorite Tools, Supplies & Equipment for Homesteading

Solar Power, Generators & Electricity

When transitioning to living off the grid, electricity can be a challenge. For us, it wasn’t feasible to jump into solar power on day one not just because it can be a significant investment, but also because we didn’t know what we needed nor did we want to waste money buying the wrong things. In the end, we have found that having a quality generator was a great place to start and we’ve since slowly started transitioning into solar power, all affordably.

Honda Handi 3000w Generator - We were torn between the portability of a 2400w generator and the usefulness of a 3000w generator. We didn't like the weight of the 3000w generators but it's really what we needed for our power needs and to be backup power for our future battery bank. We finally stumbled upon this generator while in a store and are happy we did because it's only 78lbs, has a wheel kit on it, and has been working wonderfully! Check out our Honda Handi 3000 watt generator review and other portable generator reviews.

Go Power! 120W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp Solar Controller - Ten months into our journey, we discovered this but wish we would have on day one! When the sun is shining, we can use this to keep our singular 12v RV battery topped off which is huge. This reserves our generator usage for running our power tools but no longer do we rely on it for keeping the RV battery topped us, saving us money on our fuel bill.

Schumacher Ship N' Shore 15 Amp SpeedCharge Charger with Battery Clamps - After living in our travel trailer for a couple of months we got around to fixing a huge problem: our trailer battery wasn't really charging despite having the generator turned on for 8 hours. This is because most trailers are equipped with a trickle charger. We were actually draining the battery quicker than it was charging. With this battery charger, we charge the RV battery directly which bypasses the trickle charger. So far, this is a great solution (not to mention affordable) and should hold us over until we are ready to invest in components of our solar setup. Watch our Schumacher battery charger unboxing on YouTube.

Logging & Chainsaw Milling

Because we are trying to develop our property debt-free, we are trying to use as many resources on our land as possible, including trees for lumber. We’ve successfully fell trees, made lumber and built stuff, and tools have made all the difference in how smooth everything went. Here is what our logging & chainsaw milling toolbox looks like.

Granberg MK-III Alaskan Chainsaw Mill with 36" Rails - Because we have a lot of trees on our property, we are planning on doing the majority of our construction with a chainsaw mill. So far, we're extremely happy with the results and this couple hundred dollar investment has already saved us thousands.

Fiskars 36-Inch Splitting Axe with Sheath - We picked up this axe which comes in hand for a variety of logging tasks, such as getting our chainsaw un-pinched when felling trees! Rumor has it that this brand has excellent customer service although we haven't had the opportunity to test it out yet. View our Fiskars axe unboxing video (yes, you can unbox an axe!).

Oregon Felling Wedges - We picked these up for tree felling and they've been working wonderfully. We also use these when using our Alaskan chainsaw mill to support the lumber that has been cut so that our saw stays straight.

5/16" Tow Chain - We primarily bought this tow chain for winching trees to our bucking stands. Trees rarely fall exactly where we want to mill them, and we aren't about to hurt our backs trying to move 8' sections of trees ourselves. We also use this to hoist the tree sections into the bucking stands. Later, we will likely use this for maneuvering parts of our timber frame barndominium and house.

Granberg Bar-Mount Chain Saw Sharpener - One of the things you can do to make milling lumber and felling trees a breeze is to keep your chains sharp. We like having a sharpener readily available to keep our chains in top-notch condition.

Power Tools

While it’s romantic to live off grid and do everything with hand tools, we personally like to take advantage of modern technology and use power tools to our advantage! We use power tools for almost every project and having access to them is invaluable. They save our bacon time and time again.

Makita XT257T 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Combo Kit, 2-Piece - After our BRAND NEW Black and Decker Cordless Drill kicked the bucket (the charger broke immediately due to it being fragile), we were in search of something higher-quality that would allow us to work endlessly day after day. We splurged on this Makita set and are LOVING IT! The impact driver is so awesome! We recommend this set for anyone who does anything bigger than small diy home projects. Ours came with two extra 3Ah batteries. The 4Ah batteries charge in just 40 minutes so the batteries are outrunning us by far! Our drill even took a tumble off of a 15' ladder and survived the fall. Two thumbs up so far but a full review will follow. Watch our Makita combo kit unboxing on YouTube.

Milwaukee 15.0 Amp Super Sawzall Reciprocating Saw - This was given to use by Jesse's dad and has come in handy, especially when it comes to demolitions! We were able to salvage a bunch of materials in the few days before a demolition and because we had a Sawzall (can cut through just about anything) we were able to salvage a bunch of 1x12 cedar sheathing which saved us hundreds of dollars compared to buying it new. A hammer and cat's paw simply would not do the trick. This Sawzall was a lifesaver. A must-have for any homestead.

Craftsman 10" Table Saw - We use this tool frequently on our homestead, especially when it comes to milling our own lumber! When we mill lumber with an Alaskan chainsaw mill, it comes off in large slabs which then need to be cut to dimension. Running the slabs through this table saw works really great to get the dimensional lumber we need.

Makita Plunge Router - We love to take a router to the edges of lumber milled ourselves... you may not realize it, but store-bought lumber actually has softened edges. This is also useful for making joinery as well as things like cabinets.

Double Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw - We splurged on this beauty and are happy that we did! We use in just about every project and the features of this saw trump those of a standard chop saw. We especially love this for cutting larger timbers, or multiple boards at once.

Hand Tools & Small Tools

Cobra Floating Walkie Talkies - We bought these walkie talkies for our big move to Idaho. For one, we knew we wouldn't have cell service the entire drive. Two, we also use these around our property all of the time. We have a big hill that sometimes one of us is on the other side of and it's easier to use walkie talkies than it is our cell phones. Read our full cobra floating walkie talkie review.

1,000lb Ratchet Straps - It seems that we use these daily whether it be to keep trees from falling on the neighbor's vehicles, strapping on the generator to the ATV to take it up the hillside to work, or picking up second-hand materials that we find on Craigslist. Don't both with the cheap flimsy ones when you really need something strong and trustworthy.

Milk Crate Storage Bins - As you will see in numerous videos, we use these for multiple purposes. We attached two of these to our four wheeler as when the four wheeler goes it, it's simply for work and we want many tools within an arm's reach. It's really helpful for tree felling and milling lumber. We also have these in our cars for tools, storage, organization, etc. It really helps us to find what we need quickly.

12" Combination Square - This is a great "all around" tool to have on the homestead. We use it for all kinda of things... milling lumber, leveling posts, leveling squares, measuring quickly and more. It seems to come out on every project for one thing or another.

Wood Chisel Set - Wood chisels are another great tool to have while homesteading. We frequently need to chisel out sections of wood when building, especially when practicing our timber framing skills.

Arrow Heavy Duty Staple Gun - This isn't something we use daily, or on all projects, but it's another must-have tool for your homestead toolbox. It's great for holding things up temporarily or permanently, like tarps or insulation!

100' Tape Measure - This is really great for property use when the 25' tape measure just won't cut it. We use this when planning larger building projects such as the foundation for a hot tub, barn or house. We also used it simply to measure the usable space on our property.

100' Extension Cord - We use extension cords on a daily basis... mostly because we are off grid and running off of our generator at the moment... we need to be able to get power exactly where we need it!

48-Inch Professional I-Beam Level - While we use smaller levels for most projects, a larger level such as this is useful in larger construction projects where it's essential to level over a longer distance.

Screwdriver Set - We have screwdrivers of all shapes and sizes and they all come in handy at one point or another. Investing in a set such as this is a wise idea as you will need standard heads, Phillips heads, long handles and even short handles.

Safety Gear & Equipment

When living such a rough, labor-intensive lifestyle, putting safety first is critical. While it’s possible to get away being careless for a short time, it’s wise to keep yourself protected at all times as your body is your #1 asset. The best tools in the world won’t make up for a poor or injured body!

Hard Hat - It's never a bad idea to have a couple of these around for projects. We've been wearing ours for tree felling mostly, but they're also great when you're working with lumber, especially overhead! Your noggin is pretty important so even though hard hats look kinda silly, they're a cheap insurance plan.

Safety Glasses - When working with power tools it's always a good idea to wear safety glasses. Wood chips can fly in every direction when you least expect it. It doesn't feel good to get wood in your eye (ask Alyssa!). We both wear these when we're around our power tools because we can't do what we do if our eyesight was gone.

Winter Tools & Equipment

HomePlow by Meyer - This is the snow plow we mounted on our friend's truck as a resource to both of our families! This plow worked 'round the clock in a 20-year snow storm (got 4' in 48 hours) and while it isn't a commercial plow designed for heavy use, it worked like a charm and benefited not one, but up to five families or so! Here's the plow on Amazon as well.

Workwear & Clothing

When you’re working on a homestead and doing a lot of labor, quality clothing is a must. You will need clothing that is durable, comfortable and prioritizes your safety. Below are pieces of clothing or workwear we are finding to be extremely practical on our homestead (and we go through a lot of it!).

Armachillo Sun Cape Hat - Jesse doesn't like wide-brim hats (he feels they limit his vision), but a baseball cap doesn't provide enough coverage. He was happy to find this cape hat to protect his next! The best of both worlds!

Armachillo Long Sleeve Cooling Shirt - Jesse was skeptical about this shirt because it was so lightweight (usually means it's not durable), but low and behold, it's standing up to the test of time. Jesse's been wearing this daily for almost two months, and even though the shirt has been abused, it's holding up well! This is just ounces in weight, comfortable, flexible, and keeps the sun off Jesse's skin.

Dry on the Fly Slim Leg Pants - I've previously had bad luck with these lightweight wicking pants, so I was hesitant to order these, but I'm in love with these. I love that these are slim leg (less bulk in the calves), they're stretchy, ironically great to work in, lightweight and wicking. I have another pair of these on the way in khaki.

Armachillo Cooling V-Neck T-Shirt - This is my favorite shirt to-date. Lightweight, synthetic, wicking, and flattering in all the right places. I love the v-neck, gusseted back and definition in the waist... all things that make otherwise boring workwear flattering on the female body!

Outdoor Research Sombriolet Sun Hat - We've had these for over a year now and love them (me more so than Jesse)! Highly durablel, UPF 50+, wide brim, ventilation and a draw string. What more could you possibly want?

Mechanix Original Work Gloves - Jesse has been using the same pair of these work gloves for over a year, and in glove-life, this is a long time! We bought some heavy-duty leather gloves from Home Depot and they lasted under a week before getting a rip on the finger. These are machine-washable, durable, comfortable and have great sensitivity / touch so that you can actually pick out screws from your pockets!

Georgia Boot Romeo Slip-On Work Shoe - Jesse was in need of a quality slip-on work shoe as his Sketchers weren't cutting it. He wanted a boot with stitching so that they were repairable, a heavy sole to keep things from penetrating his foot, slip-on was critical so that he could jump in and out of them quickly so that they didn't have to come in the RV, had to have good tread, wanted the leather to be nice-quality so that they would last a long time, and these shoes fit the bill. Jesse recommends to order them 1/2 size too big so that you can wear them with a thicker sock in winter. They also take some time to break in so be sure to wear a thicker sock the first couple of times so that they stretch out a hair. Watch our Georgia Boot Romeos unboxing on YouTube.

Smart Wool Merino Wool Midweight Baselayer - This is the exact baselayer Alyssa wears almost daily as soon as fall arrives in the Pacific Northwest! She gets cold extremely easily and this is her favorite base layer to wear. It's made from merino wool which is extremely soft. Combine this with a fleece, jacket, merino wool socks, and a beanie, and she is warm and toasty all winter long (but she still loves sitting by the fire and retreating to the warm RV...)

Down Booties - These don't really have to do with working, but when you live off-grid and heat isn't an abundant resource (such as if you're living in an RV), or if you simply get cold all of the time like Alyssa, down booties are a must. She stumbled upon these last year and wears them daily in cold weather. She feels the need to scream about down booties from the roof top because they are just THAT awesome.

Earflap Wool Hat - When you're working in a cooler climate, it's critical to keep your head warm. We have warmer-weather beanies, but we both have wool hats with earflaps. These are great for when the sun goes down and we're still working when we can see our breath!

Sherpa-Lined Sandstone Sierra Carhartt Jacket - Alyssa found this jacket on her journey of learning how to dress warm in winter. She came into this journey with a Northface jacket that just wasn't doing the trick in single-digit weather. By wearing Smartwool long underwear, a fleece, and this sherpa-lined Carhartt jacket, she stays nice and toasty which increases productivity around the homestead! View the womens Carhartt jacket unboxing!

Construction Materials

What we build our home out of is as critical as the tools we use to do it with. Here is a list of products we’re familiar with and had a good experience with.

Warmboard Radiant Floor Heating - This is the sub floor we decided to go with. Even though we have radiant tubing in our garage slab, we prefer to have radiant heating directly in our sub floor as this will be the most comfortable. There are many reasons we went with Warmboard that we hope to share in a future video, but installation went beautifully and we can't wait to get it all hooked up over the months to come!

RV Living

If you’re like us, you may begin your homesteading journey by living in a travel trailer! This allows us to get a head start on building our off grid property while putting our money where it matters most. We have put together list of all of our tips for living in a travel trailer, but here are the tools we use that make our lives easier!

Wheel Chocks - When you park an RV, it's a great idea to use wheel chocks to make sure the RV doesn't go anywhere it shouldn't. These are fairly straightforward.

6-Gallon Water Jugs - Since we don't want to move our trailer every time we want more water, and since we don't have a well or cistern in yet, we are relying on these 6-gallon water jugs. These are great because they're relatively easy for us both to life and they have a nozzle on the end which makes for easy pouring. You won't want anything heavier as it takes a while to drain, and holding any more weight can put you at risk of strain or injury unless you have something to set it on. We fill up a few of these every time we go to town.

ShelterLogic Garage in a Box - As you will discover in this blog post, we needed protection for our RV immediately as it is prone to leakage. We ultimately will build a barn to put it in, but we had rain when we arrived on our property so getting a shelter up pronto was at the top of our priority list. Out of desperation we bought this Garage in a Box and looking back on it, we couldn't be happier with the purchase. It's a great temporary solution for protection but it's sturdier than your typical tent-like carport. It survived a hefty wind storm without any damage whatsoever and was also a breeze to put up. Check out this post to see how we built a deck to put the Garage in a Box on top of to give us some additional clearance + an awesome deck! Oh yea... this won't work for extremely long RVs. This is 20' long and our RV is 19' so we were in luck!

Microfiber Cleaning Cloths - Needless to say, living in the middle of a piece of dirt in an RV is filthy. We sweep out the RV daily and wipe down surfaces weekly with these microfiber cleaning cloths. As a general rule of thumb, it's easiest to clean dry than it is wet. Wipe down the dry debri, and then use water only when something won't come up dry. Water + dust = mud so try to eliminate the dust all together. We also wipe down our boots, camera equipment and other tools with these cloths.

Schumacher Ship N' Shore 15 Amp SpeedCharge Charger with Battery Clamps - After living in our travel trailer for a couple of months we got around to fixing a huge problem: our trailer battery wasn't really charging despite having the generator turned on for 8 hours. This is because most trailers are equipped with a trickle charger. We were actually draining the battery quicker than it was charging. With this battery charger, we charge the RV battery directly which bypasses the trickle charger. So far, this is a great solution (not to mention affordable) and should hold us over until we are ready to invest in components of our solar setup. Watch our Schumacher battery charger unboxing on YouTube.

GrassWorx Clean Machine Omega Doormat - As we mention in our ultimate guide to living in a travel trailer, one of the best ways to keep the trailer tidy is by leaving dust and dirt at the door! This is the second doormat on our homestead and the best so far. This one really helps to collect the dirt where others do not.

Kitchen & Cooking

We’re not doing too much cooking at the moment but what we do have serves us well and allows us to keep a healthy yet satisfying diet while we build our home.

Vitamix Blender - We've been using this Vitamix blender for 5 years or so and it's worked like a charm. We use it to make smoothies, ice cream, pureed soup, nut butters, cat food, laundry detergent and more. We've worked the crap out of the thing. It's worth every penny to us... we're all about buying once and buying a tool that does it all, reliably.

Waring MG105 Professional Meat Grinder - We've been using this particular meat grinder for 4+ years to make our own homemade cat food. Even though it's on the lower end cost-wise, it's worked great for us with zero issues whatsoever. It grinds bone without a problem. We've also used it to make sausage once, although we hope there is a lot of meat-grinding and sausage-making in our future!

GoSun Stove, Sport Edition - We just received this solar stove and are happy to start cooking with it! The idea is that it uses the sun to cook rather than a limited resource such as wood or propane. The only downfall is that it can only be used when the sun is shining (or overcast days), but not at night. That said, it seems like a great tool to have when living off-grid as the sun is an abundant resource. We like knowing that we always have a way to cook our food if the sun is out. Watch our GoSun Stove unboxing on Youtube.

Cast Iron Cookwear - We purchased this 3-piece cast iron skillet set a couple years back and love it! To be honest, we mostly use the 10" skillet which is PERFECT for two people, but if you're cooking for more than two people I'd recommend something larger. Once we learned how to season a cast iron skillet, we were even happier because our pans became as close to non-stick as it gets for cast iron.

Blogging & Documenting

We take documenting our journey very seriously AND work from home, so it’s important that we have technology that’s reliable 99.9% of the time. Here are the tools we use to make the quality of our content and videos top-notch.

Nikon D5200 - When we embarked on our video journey (started with producing our own digital products), we knew we wanted our videos to have a professional feel to them. We weren't about to produce professional videos with an iphone or low-end camcorder. This camera, while meant for still photography, is great at producing video. It has a short battery life but with multiple batteries, we're able to easily produce the videos we need. We bought a refurbished camera at a discount but it has problems... mainly, it never turns on on the first try. Others have great success with refurbished cameras. Only you can make the decision on what camera to buy!

GoPro HERO3+ - This is our secondary camera that is great for action shots or underwater shots. Our Nikon is really more classified as a studio camera... it's nice to have a camera that we can happily cover in sawdust or even dirt. It's also nice to vary the shots up a little bit as the GoPro has somewhat of a fish-eye effect.

WD 1TB My Passport Ultra Portable External Hard Drive - As you can imagine, we were quickly filling up the storage on our Macbooks. We also wanted to easily share footage. We decided that a high storage capacity external hard drive was the way to go. Anywhere we go to use wifi, we simply plugin the external hard drive and have access to all of our footage and videos. With this we are easily able to back up our memory cards so that when they go back in the camera they are empty and ready for a full day of filming.

Macbook Pro 15.4 Inch Laptop - We didn't buy these strictly for our homestead blogging but for all of the digital work that we do. These are a hefty investment of around $2k but to us, they're worth every penny. On our old Dell desktop computers, rending a video would take around 4 hours. On these, most take under 5 minutes. This is priceless to us. They are also capable of running Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop without crashing. We're able to edit video, photo, and upload to the blog quick and painlessly. They also seamlessly dock into our Thunderbolt displays which is great, although our Thunderbolts are in storage at the moment due to limited space in the RV!

AmazonBasics Camera Backpack - Protecting our camera is important to us, especially as we're working in rugged climates! Getting dust all over the camera is a normal day! We store the Nikon in a backpack so that it doesn't get bumped around in the trailer, and also so that we can easily haul it to whatever the job site is for the day. When in the backpack, we can *gently* toss it into the bushes when we're done filming or until we're ready to use it. It also acts as a place to store our microphone, extra batteries and tripod.

PNY Elite Performance 64GB High Speed SD Card - This is a high-capacity SD card, compatible with our Nikon D5200, that allows us to capture lots of video throughout the day. We've never maxed it out in a day, but as a good rule of thumb, we empty the SD card after a day of filming. We love to start every day with an empty SD card and fully charged batteries.

Tripod - Although some are convinced that we actually live in LA and have an entire crew filming us on an off grid set, it's actually not true, and we employ a tripod to get shots where we're both included! This is a must-have for any photographer... we even use it when someone is operating the camera as it makes for a crisp shot.

I noticed in your solar update video that you had an inverter/modem hooked up to your bank; however, that is the only mention of it that I have seen. Could you post a link like you did your other equipment?

I found your blog by chance tonight and started looking around. I love your blog and understand what your doing and going through. My husband and I live in the city and have been building our off grid cabin since 2010. We have learned a few things during this time that help make our lives a little easier and some things that didn’t work so well. We started out living in an RV for the first couple years and probably one of the best investments we made for our power needs is a Tripp Lite and a few golf cart batteries. The Tripp Lite is a power inverter/charger and we use it in our cabin now too. We now have 3 of them the run the cabin. The golf cart batteries are a lot better than RV/marine deep cycle batteries as they are meant to be charged and discharged often and can handle this type of usage unlike the deep cycle battery that came with our RV. We have found that the golf cart batteries will last longer and not need replacing as often as the deep cycle batteries do with the constant use we give them. They are a little more expensive but we were having to replace the deep cycle batteries every year (sometimes more) while we have had our golf cart batteries for several years now. We have tried many variations and experiments for our power banks and the golf cart batteries/Tripp Lite have been the most efficient and reliable source of power. We use a generator to recharge our power banks and keep close tabs on how we use our power, (our fridge is most of our consumption) but can live comfortably with out much sacrifice with this system my husband created. We have built our cabin running power tools plus living comfortably (i.e. Warm and comfy) using it. I’d be happy to share more if you want. We have built ours paying for it as we go and finding used materials just like you guys are doing. I love to repurpose items and find new ways to use almost everything.

I love the hot tub you guys have Built and will definitely explore that more. We want to do something like that and have done some research but have not built it yet. I am going to share your ideas with my husband. It sounds like exactly what he wants to build and yours looks great too.

I am interested in moving up to alaska in the next 5 yrs or sooner depending on what it will take to get started and what i will need and what kind of finances do I need to think about getting started. I have lived off grid as much as i can in the lower 48 and I want to complete this part of my life. i have always disliked the city life and have chosen to live in the mountains down here. But its just not home to me until I own it! Any advise you can give would be great and my good prayers for many more wonderful years to come for you all! thankyou

In Alaska it’s all about the job. If you have skills that can keep you employed over the long winter then you can live in Alaska. If this is questionable you need to expect to leave Alaska when Winter hits which is typically in September. Best way to do this is two people. It could be a couple or two friends but that doubles your chance of at least one of you having a job all winter. In the cities the living is easy, expensive but just like living in the lower 48. Living in the country or out in the middle of no where is tempting and everyone’s dream but there is no work and would be next to impossible to commute anyway. Best advice is plan on working and living in a city until you can get land and a place to live/cabin on your property. And do it with another person.

i liked the statement about the chainsaw i use to race motorcycles and i would never have advertisement om my bike or wear advertisement for a company that wasn’t helping me because i didn’t want to take away from the companies that were…..

I had one of those Honda generators and it gave me nothing but trouble. It started real easy, but it was cold blooded as heck even in the summer. You had to let it run a couple of minutes before putting a load on it or it would stall almost every time and if it didn’t it struggled like heck. I took it to the service center three times in just the few months I had it and finally I got fed up with it and sold the thing and got a 7500 watt Dewalt. Didn’t intend to get one so large, but it was regularly $900 and I got out the door for just under $700.

Hi Guys, I love your You Tube page and your blog. I think you both are a very good team. I look forward to your video’s and your blog. Sorry about your cat, I have 2 of my own they the best friends a person can have. Your table saw is the same one I have and it works great. I am a disabled vet and unable to work so I set up a woodworking shop and build things. I wish you all the best looking forward to seeing your house being built. Good Luck and God Bless Peter USMC

First of all I want to say I love your videos on Youtube and the blog. I’m half way through my military career right now and you two are living the life that my wife and I want to do. Keep up the good posting. My question for this section is what tools would you add to this list for building a timber frame building?

You guys are inspiring. I stumbled across your YouTube page and honestly, helped kick my butt in gear about going after what I truly want in life…..something I can not only pass to my children when my time is done, but something that can be turned into money should the need/opportunity arise. Jesse your financial video series really spoke to me.

Thank you for helping me see what I truly wish to accomplish in my life. God bless and I wish you both a wonderful life together.

I’ve enjoyed watching your progress…I feel really sad and frustrated by the naysayers who make their snarky comments…I’m all about choice, and making one that meets your goals. I’m just not sure why folks watch if they don’t like the content.

Anyway, great job on building and marshaling your community, understanding the value of using your project as a teaching project and finding the personal strength to nourish your relationship, resistance and persistence.